


The passing of an era

by 4thofFive



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Future Fic, M/M, fake magazine article
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-12
Updated: 2014-01-12
Packaged: 2018-01-08 12:39:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1132747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4thofFive/pseuds/4thofFive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inside this month's issue of Ho`okipa Magazine you'll read an exclusive interview with Steve McGarrett and Danny Williams, the founders of Five-0 who recently announced their retirement. What does the future hold for these defenders of Hawaii?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The passing of an era

Ho' okipa Magazine

September 2031 issue

 

**The passing of an era at Five-0  
** _Task force announces the retirement of McGarrett and Williams_

By Naomi Ioela

 

It’s hard to imagine now but when the Five-0 task force was created by the late Governor Pat Jameson in 2010, it had many detractors. Few believed that a four-person task force run by a Navy SEAL with no law enforcement training could possibly succeed. In fact, most predicted it would be a disastrous failure. But now, 21 years later, the Five-0 task force has a worldwide reputation and its members have successfully captured and prosecuted some of the worst criminals in the United States. And in the case of the now deceased Wo Fat, one of the worst criminals in the world.

 

With the recent announcement that its two founding members are about to retire, many people are beginning to question the future of Five-0 once again. There are those who wonder how the task force can survive without the courageous leadership of Commander Steven McGarrett and the investigatory talents of Detective Lieutenant Daniel Williams.

 

“That’s something we’re not worried about,” says the still handsome, salt and pepper haired Commander McGarrett as he leans back in his leather desk chair in the Five-0 offices. The usually publicity-shy Commander agreed to sit down with Ho`okipa Magazine for an exclusive interview with his partner and husband Danny Williams by his side. As always, Williams is dressed in the dress shirt and slacks that have remained his one hold over from his old life on the mainland.

 

“Kono Kalakaua is going to do an amazing job heading Five-0,” McGarrett assures us. “She’s a highly skilled police officer and she’s got the toughness needed to handle this job. She has the Governor’s full support, and mine.”

 

The two partners, who celebrated one of the first legal same-sex unions in Hawaii three years after the creation of Five-0, insist they are leaving the operation in good hands under Kalakau and the five new members of the team (Chin Ho Kelly retired in 2022). Governor Elizabeth Aliki agrees.

 

“I have every confidence in Kono Kalakaua’s ability to lead the Five-0 team. I’m not minimizing the effect the retirement of McGarrett and Williams will have on Five-0, those two men created the task force and they have been its heart and soul for 21 years. But they have also trained Kono to be the best, and she is.”

 

“Kono has had some unique training for sure,” says Williams. “She’s a nice mix of Chin Ho Kelly’s calm and intelligence, Steve’s fearlessness and my clear-headed logic.”

 

That statement – which causes McGarrett to snort and roll his eyes earning him a slap on the arm from Williams – is a good description of the variety of skills and personalities that made up the original members of Five-0 team when it was created back in 2010.  The original group was definitely rag-tag, but by all accounts they quickly molded into one of the most effective crime-fighting agencies ever formed. So effective that both Williams and McGarrett have given lectures at the FBI training academy at Quantico and have been guest speakers at law enforcement conferences in Canada, Australia and England.

 

“I don’t think it was anything magical,” says Williams when asked how a disparate group of people were able to become such an effective law enforcement team. “Yes there were a lot of differences between us, but there were also a lot of similarities – things like believing in law and order and wanting to protect the people of the islands. We all became cops, or in Steve’s case a SEAL and then a cop, to help others, to keep our home safe for our friends and families.”

 

“I think our differences made us stronger,” adds McGarrett. “When we started, Kono was young, fresh out of the academy and eager to learn. Chin was a very experienced cop with deep roots in the island. Danny was – is – a great detective with an enviable conviction rate and I had training with Naval Intelligence and a unique way of approaching the job.”

 

“Unique,” Williams echoes, giving his husband an indulgent smile. “Yes, that’s one way to describe at it.”

 

The two men laugh at the old joke. It’s a sign of how much each has mellowed in their mid 50s that they don’t begin bickering at each other as they once would have. The obvious love the two have for each other begs the question, would Five-0 have been as successful if McGarrett and Williams hadn’t built such a strong relationship?

 

“Danny and I didn’t like each other at first, but then we slowly became friends, and then best friends. The romance part came a couple of years later. Had we not fallen in love, Five-0 would have been just as successful, but I believe that being partners, in work and in life, has given both of us the strength and support each of us needed to deal with the challenges of our daily lives. I for one can’t imagine who I would be now if I hadn’t met Danny.”

 

Does Williams feel the same way? His antipathy for Hawaii was well known when he first moved to the islands just over 22 years ago.

 

“Look, there are parts of living on Hawaii that I will always have a problem dealing with,” the Lieutenant responds, only small traces of a New Jersey accent still apparent in his voice. “Pineapple on pizza, that’s just an abomination, the slower way of life, going to restaurants that serve Spam,” Williams gives a theatrical shudder that makes McGarrett chuckle.

 

“You have to understand that I moved here because my daughter was here. It wasn’t by choice. I’d left all my friends and family in New Jersey. The first six months here were hard. I was alone and feeling alienated. Then I met this Neanderthal,” Williams gestures at his husband, “and was shanghaied into the task force. Suddenly I had an ohana and friends who cared for me. I was doing a job that mattered and I was watching my little girl grow up. It took me a long while to admit it but coming to Hawaii was the best decision I ever made.”

 

“I knew I’d win him over eventually,” McGarrett pipes up with a laugh. “I knew he’d come to love these islands if he’d just give them a chance, just like he came to love me when he gave me a chance.”

 

Given the rocky start to their partnership, the marriage of McGarrett and Williams has been surprisingly serene. There have been some rough patches: the well-publicized investigation into McGarrett’s ties with the Yakuza in 2015, and the near-fatal bullet wound Williams suffered during a hostage situation in 2021, but the two men seem as devoted to each other as ever. One can’t help wondering if retirement will strengthen or strain their relationship.

 

“It’s going to be an interesting test of our marriage alright,” replies McGarrett with a laugh. “Maybe we’ll get so sick of each other that we’ll run back to work. But Danny and I have been working hard for decades and now we want to travel and see the world while we’re young enough.”

 

“Steve traveled a lot in the Navy,” adds Williams, leaning across his chair to squeeze his husband’s hand, “but I haven’t had a chance to travel too much. I want him to show me some of his favourite places, and I want us to discover a few new places together.”

 

And what of their children, Dr. Grace Williams and Ani McGarrett-Williams?

 

“Grace is busy teaching at the university, and now that she and her husband have had their first baby they’ve got full lives. They don’t need their crotchety old fathers hanging around,” Williams says with a touch of sadness.

 

“And Ani is in her first year at NYU so she’s making friends and enjoying a new life,” adds McGarrett with his own touch of melancholy. “Danny and I are free to travel and really just enjoy each other without any outside distractions. We’re both excited by this new chapter in our lives.”

 

McGarrett, who retired from the Navy reserve 10 years ago, has been a man of action and adventure since he was 18 years old. Will the notoriously hyperactive man be able to stand retirement?

 

“When Danny and I aren’t travelling I plan to stay busy doing projects around our house and continuing to advocate for better health care for veterans,” responds the Commander who last year traveled to Washington to testify about the issue in front of Congress. “Between that and playing sports and spoiling our grandson, I’m not too worried about filing my days.”

 

Lieutenant Williams also has plans to stay busy including teaching a photography course at Honolulu Community College this fall, keeping fit with Jujitsu and doing his own volunteer work.

 

“The truth is that Steve and I just want to be together. I feel like we’ve both been running like crazy since we met and now we’d like to slow down and just enjoy our lives.”

 

Williams’ daughter, Grace, a math professor at the University of Hawaii, feels confident that her fathers’ can keep themselves busy.

 

“At first I couldn’t imagine Steve and Danno without Five-0, but now I’m confident they’ll do well. The two of them are crazy about each other and love to spend time together. I love my husband but I don’t think I could be with him on a job all day and then at home at night, but Steve and Danno have made it work. I think they’re going to have a lot of fun together, and my sister and I are just pleased they won’t be in as much danger anymore.” Grace Williams pauses for a moment then shrugs. “But then again those two are trouble magnets – especially Steve – so anything could happen.”

 

And what about Five-0? Will McGarrett and Williams be able to stay away from the action?

 

“Kono knows she can call us if she needs anything, but she won’t need to do that,” replies McGarrett confidently. “She’s a hell of a cop and a great leader. Plus she has an incredible support system at home with Adam and their two children. I have no concerns about the future of Five-0.”

 

Governor Aliki will be hosting a retirement party for the two Five-0 founders at the Hilton Hawaiian Village next Friday and friends and family from around the world are expected to attend. The couple has even received a congratulatory letter from former President Barack Obama whose life they helped save in 2013.

 

“Neither of us are party people but we’re looking forward to this gathering,” says Williams with a hint of excitement. “Chin Ho Kelly and his wife and family are travelling over from Kauai to be there; Steve’s sister Mary and our niece Joanie, my sisters from Newark along with my 77-year-old mother. We’ve even heard former Governor Denning will be there.”

 

“It will be great to see everyone,” McGarrett adds with a soft smile. “We’ve been incredibly lucky in our friends and family.”

 

As this chapter in the history of Five-0 closes and McGarrett and Williams pass the torch to a new generation of cops, do the partners have any words of wisdom for those who will take their places at Five-0?

 

“Make sure your home life is as satisfying as your work life,” advises Williams as he takes his husband’s hand in his once again. “When you have that you’ll have everything you need.”

 

McGarrett nods in agreement with that sentiment and then grins playfully.

 

“And don’t get on the bad side of Kono Kalakaua!”

 

-30-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Ho`okipa = hospitality  
> Ani = beautiful


End file.
